With 10 days left before the trial against Paducah surgeon Ted Jefferson is scheduled to begin, a hearing was held Tuesday in McCracken District Court to determine what evidence the defense will be allowed to present.Jefferson was charged Jan. 26 with terroristic threatening and disorderly conduct after he allegedly made gun-related comments in an operating room at Baptist Health Paducah. His trial is scheduled to begin May 13.The main issues Tuesday were a photograph that allegedly shows a contaminated surgical tray, a four-year-old slideshow produced by Baptist Health staff discussing issues in the sterilization department, and evidence of other quality control incidents that allegedly occurred at the hospital before and after Jefferson's episode. The photograph, which defense attorney Bard Brian released to the media in February, allegedly shows a surgical tool from a knee-replacement kit still coated in bone cement after being sterilized. Brian said the photo shows why his client was upset on the day in question.Assistant County Attorney Jamie Mills argued there is no way to verify the photo was taken at Baptist Health Paducah on the day in question. He also accused the defense of wanting to use the photo to distract the jury from the real issue: Jefferson's behavior."This photograph doesn't have anything to do, or shed any light on whether or not Dr. Jefferson made any threats on the day in question, or whether he actively engaged in disorderly conduct," Mills said.District Judge Tony Kitchen opted to reserve ruling on the photograph, stating it would be admissible in court if it is "properly introduced" and the defense shows a clear connection to the day in question.Kitchen granted the commonwealth's motion to exclude evidence of incidents that allegedly occurred after Jefferson's outburst, agreeing they had no bearing on Jefferson's behavior.As for the quality control incidents that allegedly occurred before Jan. 26, Mills argued any prior problems could not be directly connected to Jefferson's actions."If we're going to go back and start looking at what was done at the hospital four years ago, this trial runs the risk of getting so far out in the weeds that we're litigating everything under the sun except for what Dr. Jefferson actually said on Jan. 26," Mills said. "There's going to have to be a lot of control exercised in this case."Mills also disputed the relevance of the slideshow, which allegedly outlines problems in the hospital's central sterilization department, including understaffing, surgical instruments getting lost, a lack of space and organization, and a lack of communication between the operating room staff and the sterilization unit.Kitchen denied that motion, adding "objections can still be made (at trial)," and Brian would have to prove the relevance of the evidence presented.Finally, the defense filed a motion to dismiss the terroristic threatening charge, stating in order for Jefferson's actions to fit the criteria for the charge, he had to threaten to cause death, serious physical harm or property damage."In this case, Dr. Jefferson did not threaten to commit any crime," Brian said. "There is no crime being committed by a person saying 'I'm going to go home and get a gun.' That's not illegal ... It is not a crime for anybody to leave here and go home and obtain a firearm. Period."For Jefferson's statement to fall within the parameters of the terroristic threatening statute, Brian argued the doctor would have had to threaten to use the gun in some way.Mills argued there were other comments made by Jefferson that would be submitted as evidence at trial."After investigating the case and speaking with the witnesses, there are other things that came out of Dr. Jefferson's mouth that day," Mills said. "We think that those statements do illuminate or shed light on what Dr. Jefferson said."Judge kitchen denied Brian's motion to dismiss the terroristic threatening charge, stating he did find probable cause to support it.A final pretrial conference was scheduled for May 10.Contact Kat Russell, a Paducah Sun staff writer, at 270-575-8653.